Why should I care?

We are pulled in a million directions each day. You barely have the bandwidth to remember to get your kid's Cliff Jr bar in his backpack for snack let alone sit down and write your personal narrative. I get it.

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And, I want you to know that telling your story is for you. As in, not for your kids, your spouse, your parents, your boss, your friends. Y-O-U. The reason to care is because this process provides real benefits. Science backs this up. The reason to care is because you are in control of your story. Yes, there are events in your life that happen to you. The power is in the retelling. You can decide how to put the pieces of your story together, the feeling you want to convey, the lessons you've learned.

Have you ever been hurt? Have you ever been let down? Have you ever felt conflicted? (Are you human, because we all answer yes, right?) 

Then you have an interesting story to tell. The healing part comes from diving into the details. Why did that comment bother me so much? What's the source of the conflict?

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Creating our own narratives reminds us that we can overcome adversity. This in turn builds resilience, which leads to increases in life satisfaction. The beauty of increasing your own resilience is that you become a model for others in your life. Double win!

Personal EssayRachel NusbaumRewrite your story, Resilience, Storytelling, Narrative identity1 Comment